Crank-holding attachment.



J. W. CUNNINGHAM CRANK HOLDING ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12. 1917.

1,2%3,593@ Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

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' I Il/II '5 EN 51 ft ED CRANK-HOLDING ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 12, 1917. Serial No. 154.292..

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrrr W. CUNNING- HAM, a. citizen of the United States, -resid ing at Villisca, in the county of Montgomcry and State of Iowa have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crank- Holding Attachments; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to holds for start ing cranks of automobiles and has for its object the provision of a holder which may be readily applied to the crank carrying shaft in such a. manner as to hold the same in an upright position when disengaged from the engine shaft.

Another object of my invention is to provide an attachment which may be applied to the crank in such a manner as not to interfere in any way with the construction of the parts.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an attachment of this character which will be cheap to manufacture, easy to operate, and one which produces a maximum of efliciency with a minimum of wear on the parts thereof.

This invention is designed to be applied more particularly to Ford cars but it is obvious that minor changes may be made in the details of its construction so as to permit of its use on various types employing the same general principle as the Ford car.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement or" parts to be hereinafter described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a plan view showing my invention applied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the parts of my invention; and,

Fig. at is a perspective view of another part of my invention.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention as applied to a Ford car and show the usual crank handle and shaft provided with the ordinary spring mounted on the ordinary bushing 1 supported on the front axle of the machine and having the usual clutch member 2 secured on the inner end. This handle shaft, spring, bushing and clutch member form no part of my invention but are merely shown to illustrate the application of the invention which comprises a cylindrical collar or sleeve 3 secured on the clutch member 2 by any suitable means but which in this embodiment comprises a set screw 4. Projecting longitudinally from one end of this collar is a lug 5. On the inwardly extending portion of the bushing l is secured a collar or sleeve 6 which forms another part of my invention. This collar is provided adjacent one end with a thickened portion or shoulder 7 in which is formed a socket 5 to receive the lug 5 of the adjacent collar when the shaft is drawn outwardly by action oi the spring. This last mentioned collar is secured on the bushing l by means of a set screw 8 extending through the thickened portion or shoulder T of the collar.

In the operation of my invention the crank is forced inwardly against the action of the spring, bringing the clutch member 2 into engagement with a suitahlc clutch member formed on the engine shaft, and the handle rotated to start the engine. lVhen this has been accomplished, the handle is released and will be forced outwardly by the action of the spring, thereby bringing the lug 5 of the movable collar secured to the clutch member 2 into engagement with the socket formed in the stationary collar carried on the inwardly extending portion oi the bushing 1. This will lock the crank in the position desired and it is obvious that the separate collars may be adjusted around their respective members to secure the look ing of the crank at any desired point which in this instance is positioned at the top of the collars so as to hold the handle in an upright position when the crank is disengaged from the engine shaft.

It will be understood that I do not limit myself to the specific construction employed in my attachment but minor changes in the details of construction employed therein may be made without in any way departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim The combination with an automobile having an engine starting crank, a clutch member on the crank. means to hold said clutch member normally disengaged, a bushing Patented (lot. in, rear.

socket therein on one of said collars, a lug projecting from the other to be received in said socket and hold said starting crank 10 when disengaged and means to detachably JOSEPH W. CUNNINGHAM.

lVitnesses S; H. COLEMAN, L. G. GOURLEY.

Ccpies ofthis patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

7 Washington, D. 0. 

